That means that after many days of trying to understand each other, I still haven't determined what their relationship is. I only know that every morning they go to the beach very early, when it's still dark and they can't see each other's faces clearly, to bathe in the sand together. First, the man will help the woman cover herself with sand, then he will scoop sand to cover himself. They lie silently next to each other like that. I tried to crawl up the sand a long way to listen to what they said to each other, but I couldn't hear anything at all. Silence. That made me even more curious. So when they went down to the beach to shake off the sand, I splashed it in their faces to see how they reacted. The man was very thoughtful in protecting the woman from the waves, then helped her to shore. They splashed themselves with the can of soft drinks they brought, then put on long clothes and walked back together. I was extremely disappointed. So all the explorations had failed.
Fortunately, it was already bright and there were many people on the beach. I let myself relax and watch the people on the sand. Strangely, the beach was full of only old people and children, not a single young person, let alone middle-aged people. In addition to swimming, men also played volleyball and badminton under the poplar trees. Women and children bathed in the sea and sand. I noticed a group of men playing volleyball. They stood in a circle passing the ball back and forth to each other, their movements so skillful that they attracted a wave of gossipers like me. Especially an old man who looked skinny but very agile, I had never seen him drop the ball. His sharp eyes and skillful arms stood out above all, I guessed that he was probably a retired volleyball player, that was how he could have such quick reflexes.
I also quite enjoyed watching the old men planting banana trees on the sand. They half-closed their eyes while “standing” on their heads, looking like upside-down stakes. They remained silent like that in front of the admiring eyes of the people around them. Even when I deliberately played a prank and “rushed” to the shore, almost licking that salt and pepper tuft of hair, they still did not react. Truly admirable. See, I am a wave and I respect it, let alone other people!
On the beach, the kids were the loudest. They chased each other and then rushed into the sea, letting me hit them all over their backs and faces. They laughed with delight, not in the least bit scared. That made me quite disappointed. If you try telling a ghost story and the listener laughs instead of being scared to the point of peeing their pants, then you will understand my disappointment at that moment. So I got angry, I tried to hit them hard and crawl out as fast as I could, dragging them along. But their limbs flailing, they swam like otters and quickly climbed ashore, continuing to chase each other and scream. Disappointed, I lay there quietly waiting for dawn, no longer interested in rushing in and taking anything away.
Suddenly a clear voice spoke up:
- Oh! What a beautiful snail!
I turned my head curiously to look. It turned out to be a little girl. She wasn't wearing a swimsuit but a white dress, her hair was braided into two pigtails and her small, pretty lips spoke. Her eyes were bright like two pearls, sparkling even more in the early morning light of the lazy sun that had just stretched and yawned. I rested my head on the sand and watched what the father and daughter were doing. The father was wearing military uniform. He must have been on leave to visit home. He lifted his little daughter and carried her on his shoulder:
- There, do you see clearly, do you see my office?
- Ah, I see it, isn't that agency over there, at the black dot?
- That's right!
- Why are there no houses over there, Dad? I see a lot of boats. What are boats doing out there, Dad?
The father excitedly explained to the little girl that out there was the sea, with fishing boats. His office was on the island to keep the mainland safe. The little girl exclaimed with delight:
- Ah! I know, dad is on the island so he is tall and strong, right? When I grow up, I will go to the island and be a soldier like dad.
- I know, little soldier. Now you have to go to the car. If you keep your mother waiting too long, she will get angry.
- Wait, Dad, pick me some more snails. I want to put them by my bedside so that every time I miss Dad, I can put them to my ear and listen to the sea breeze.
The father also indulged his daughter by digging in the sand to find seashells. I quietly pushed a large, colorful seashell to the girl’s feet. She picked it up and laughed happily. I was so distracted by that smile that I kept watching them until they disappeared behind the relief wall that people built along the beach.
In general, the life of a wave witnesses so many things happening on the beach every day, so from time to time I also pick up a few interesting stories like that. There was also a time when I witnessed the story of a young couple, which was quite interesting. It was a morning like any other morning, when I was lazily stretching and watching the sunrise, I suddenly heard a noise. It turned out to be a group of young bamboo. When I say young bamboo, I mean they were still in the stage of flirting with each other. The girls did not go swimming but went to take pictures to check in. They wore flowing dresses, sunglasses, hats (even though it was early in the morning) and posed. The boys were of course photographers. There was a girl who caught my attention because every time the boy finished taking a picture, she would run back to look at the picture and frown, "Not good enough, take another one, it's too ugly." It took dozens of times before she nodded and said, "Not good enough." After finishing one style, which was okay, she ran to the public restroom to change into another style of dress and continued. Even when the other couples were done and stretched out on the sand because they were tired, she continued to pose and the guy would occasionally furtively wipe his forehead. I was impressed by that tall guy wearing a baseball cap. If I were him, I would have shouted, “Take a picture yourself,” but he just silently and patiently followed the girl’s every request. His friends teased loudly:
- Try your best to take a good picture or Huyen will starve you this afternoon.
- You have to crawl on the sand like that to get a nice photo to post on Facebook!
- Oh, that old fool, he makes me take pictures every day but I still can't get any better.
- Try Huy, I'm afraid he will beat you up even worse.
- …
I burst out laughing. I remembered a woman's saying in a story I picked up somewhere (it's been so long that I can't remember the speaker's face): if it's not good enough, then walk and pray, if it's good enough, then pee and walk. I wonder if it will be like that in the future if this couple becomes a couple. That's a future that no one can predict, but right now I'm seeing that guy with his back soaked and crawling around to take pictures to please the beauty. And those lips, just looking at their curvaceous shape is enough to understand that they're not just any type. That's why I say, no one can predict the future!
Sometimes I picked up stories on nights when the afternoon beachgoers had all gone home, returning the peaceful atmosphere to the beach. Usually, we would lie down and watch the stars and moon, and on nights when there were no stars and moon, we would listen to the poplar trees talking. The poplar trees were very noisy, whispering all night, mostly complaining to each other about how hot the sun was during the day. They were talkative, in this country, and it was summer, there was no way to be cool. Because of that boring story, I usually went to bed early to avoid hearing noise. But that night, the poplar trees suddenly became quiet. I looked up at the sand in surprise. Two dark shadows were leisurely strolling under the poplar trees. Ah, so they were listening to the story of a couple of lovers. I was sure because one of them had long hair. This was interesting. I jumped up and gently crawled onto the sand. Curiosity is the nature of all species, not just humans.
What were they saying? I couldn’t hear even though I strained my ears. I thought I heard the girl sobbing. She must be angry. Anger is the spice of love, making it more passionate and connected. The sobbing grew louder and louder. Then, the girl collapsed onto the boy’s shoulder. I heard her voice break, probably unable to control herself:
- If only that day, you… you stopped him. Don't argue… it's because of you, because of you arguing that this happened.
- Well, it's over now, don't blame yourself anymore.
The girl was still sobbing. The boy urged:
- Go. Light incense for him before it's too late. Hurry or else the security will find out.
They walked down the stairs closer to me. Through the light from the street, I could see their faces. My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe it, this was an old couple who made each other sand every morning. She had her hair down, looking strangely young, and the darkness of the night hid the salt and pepper color of her jet black hair, making her skin sparkle. I watched them anxiously. Why did they have to sneak here to burn incense at night like this? I held my breath, trying to listen to what they were saying.
- Brother, if you are spiritual, then come back and witness for me. Honestly, there is nothing between me and Mr. Nhan. We are just friends, a friendship of decades. We both have arthritis so we have to go to the beach to build sand every morning, we are just normal friends taking sand baths. I tried to explain but you didn't believe me... sob... why are you so stubborn... sob...
- Come on, let go of me.
- But I can't let go. Every time I dream about him, I see his eyes still staring at me. What sin have I committed?
- I know, but… life has many things that don't go your way. Are you going to be so stubborn for the rest of your life?
- I just wish I could die quickly, so I can go find him, I will ask him if he has seen everything, if his eyes have opened, if he believes me...
The woman cried out indignantly. The three incense sticks were blown by the old wind, causing the flames to flare up, then go out, then flare up again. The scent of the incense and the sound of the cries of resentment made the atmosphere seem to be immersed in sorrow. I also understood a part of the situation. It seemed that on this day last year, someone had deliberately laid there for me to sweep away, and, it seemed that on that day the whole beach was in an uproar because of my mischief. Suddenly, a few tears of regret rolled down my heart, I felt guilty. I was just a wave that liked to gossip and tease people, I never expected that a moment of mischief would cause a storm for a family. Now I clearly saw the harmful effects of being competitive that Mother Sea had warned me many times but I deliberately ignored.
With a rising sense of guilt, I crept away, far away. It seemed like there was a sobbing sound chasing me. Oh! The human world is really so complicated that even a carefree and somewhat nosy wave like me has lost all interest in gossiping…
Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/nhung-chuyen-nhat-nhanh-ben-bo-bien-131393.html
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